Police have found a six-year-old girl over 20 hours after she was abducted from the Pooyappally area in the Kollam district of Kerala.
Locals informed the police after they found the child in an abandoned state at the Asramam Maidan, an area regularly used by driving schools for training purposes.
According to Onmanorama Online, the police focused their search on a white Maruti Swift, supposedly used by kidnappers. They also made public a sketch of a man suspected to have kidnapped the child. The abductors had demanded a ransom of Rs10 lakh (Dh44,000 approx) to release the girl. Earlier, the family received a ransom call demanding Rs 5 lakh (Dh22035 approx).
The police had taken three people into custody in connection with the kidnapping of the girl. They released the two of them after interrogation, local media said.
The child was first taken to the Kollam Commissioner’s office and was then to be shifted to a hospital for further check-up. Though tired, the girl is healthy, reports said.
The locals were jubilant after the girl was found and they thanked the police for their efforts and for not giving up.
On Monday, police, quoting the child’s 8-year-old brother, said that there were four kidnappers, including a woman, who came in a car and abducted the girl while she was going for tuition.
The state administration swung into action almost immediately with Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal sharing a post on Facebook, saying the police were investigating the matter and taking all measures to nab the kidnappers.